BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) ‘ After 4 1/2 months of mourning, Virginia Tech was ready to celebrate. It took a while for the Hokies to give their fans something to cheer about. Getting off to a sluggish start in what figures to be an emotionally charged season, No. 9 Virginia Tech struggled to beat East Carolina…

Center Hill ‘ Fishing is slow. The water temperature is 89 degrees; lake is falling. A few KY bass are being caught on crawfish and nightcrawlers while fishing river channel points in 15-to-25 feet of water. A few walleye are being caught while trolling nightcrawler rigs on flats in 20-to-28 feet of water. A few…

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) ‘ What was supposed to be a tuneup turned into a stunner: Appalachian State 34, No. 5 Michigan 32. Julian Rauch’s 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left put the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch’s blocked field goal in the final seconds sealed one of college football’s biggest…

Doubles Only Tennis Tournament A tournament for doubles teams will be played Sept. 20-22 at the Civic Center courts. Awards for first and second place will be given, as well as gifts for each player. Players will also have the chance to win a new Babolat racquet. Entry fee is $15 per person, or $10…

McMinnville resident and Warren County native Marjorie Ann Martin, 63, died Sept. 1 at River Park Hospital after a three-month illness. An employee of Century Electric and a member of East End Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Elmer Clarence and Marjorie Alaska Savage Martin Sr.; and was preceded in death by brothers,…

McMinnville resident and Johnson County, Ga., native Eddie Lou Morris, 94, died Sept. 1 in Vidalia, Ga., after an extended illness. A homemaker and a member of Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian Church, she was the daughter of George B. and Lugenia Blankenship Maddux; and was preceded in death by her husband, Grady Roscoe Morris in 2003;…

McMinnville resident and Franklin County native Clark Wilson (Junior) Melson, 48, was born Feb. 14, 1959 and died Aug. 31 at his residence following a sudden illness. He was a self-employed tree trimmer and a member of the Church of Christ. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Jimmy and George Melson. He is…

Estill Springs resident Billy Howard Hooper, 56, died Aug. 22 at his home after an extended illness. An avid hunter, he was employed at Ruben Byrom’s Body Shop in Tullahoma as a technician before becoming disabled while serving his country in the Vietnam War. An Army veteran, he is survived by his wife of 30…

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ‘ Idaho Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men’s room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects. ‘I apologize for what I have caused. I am deeply sorry,’ Craig said, his wife Suzanne at his side. Craig’s resignation completed a stunning downfall…

By Chuck Shepherd Ric Hoogestraat is married to Sue and works at a call center in the Phoenix area but spends 30-plus hours a week inside the online Second Life video game, pretending that he is the digitally drawn Dutch Hoorenbeek, a 6-foot-9, muscular babe magnet who lives on his own island. That unnerves Sue,…